Chapter 1

In most respects she was an ordinary looking girl ... average height, dark brown hair, grey eyes. She tended to wear baggy jeans and hoodies, and otherwise nondescript clothes. In Nursery, she was just accepted without question; in primary school, the kids soon learned to accept her when she didn't react to teasing ... you see, her face was disfigured by a large 'port-wine' birthmark. She had friends, a few, and was a quiet, studious girl. Her parents were not unkind; in fact they genuinely loved their daughter and discreetly ensured, as far as they could, that she experienced no bullying, so she grew up reasonably secure, accepting who and how she was.

At secondary school, she experienced some teasing, but mostly isolation. She got a reputation as a 'swot', usually having her nose in a book and, indeed did very well in her exams, collecting ten good GCSEs and four equally good 'A' levels; she had no problem obtaining a place at University to read for a degree in computer science.

She met Mike Simkins by accident. His girlfriend had decided it was time for some fresh blood, or something and had just given him the push; the University cafeteria was crowded. He almost turned around and went looking for his lunch somewhere else; after all, he could get a sandwich in the 'Cutting Edge', or a sausage roll or pasty in 'Heartspace'. For that matter there were plenty of places in town where he could have bought a decent meal, if not as cheaply as in the university catering facilities. There were one or two spaces ... one of them next to Sherise, his ex-girlfriend. Well, that wouldn't do. He could have made a point of occupying it, but was it worth the indigestion?

One four-place table had only one occupant ... Abigail. He didn't really know her, though he'd seen her around. They didn't, as you might say, move in the same circles ... socially, at least, though they did overlap on computer elements of his course. He gave a mental shrug, bought his meal and approached her.

"Excuse me ... d'you mind if I sit here?"

She looked up at him, a little flustered. "Why ... no, not at all, please do," immediately dropping her eyes back to her book.

He set his meal down, got out his own book and began to eat. After a while, he became aware that she was probably not as focussed on her book as she was trying to seem; he kept catching sideways glances, and her face was clearly showing a blush.

"Feel free to tell me to shut up," he said, "but what are you reading?" Taking another mouthful he raised an eyebrow enquiringly.

"Oh, this?" She held the book up so he could see the cover; it was a paperback ... a very worn and tired paperback. "Science fiction," she said. "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress. Robert Heinlein."

"Wow ... that's an all-time favourite read of mine. The end is a bit sad, though, don't you think?"

She met his eyes for a moment before deciding how to answer. "I don't know," she said slowly, "I think it's sort of satisfying, in a way. And he left it open, didn't he? We don't know for sure if Mike is truly dead?"

He nodded. "True, got to agree with you there. What I like about his books is the way he explores the way societies might develop on other worlds. I mean, in the Moon, he gives a really consistent picture of a society that's developed, of necessity, in a penal colony when the criminals are no longer detained, but unable to leave ... and new people are being born that have never done anything wrong, but they can't leave either ... a sort of modern frontier society. Fantastic!"

"I know what you mean... " she paused, "his ideas of how marriages might have to work when there's a shortage of women; rather like polygyny in societies where there's a shortage of men ... and TANSTAAFL ... I think that's a great idea"

(Just in case you've never heard the term, it stands for 'there ain't no such thing as a free lunch'. Think about it, if you never have before.)

"What else do you read, then?"

"Oh, all sorts. Brave New World and 1984, of course, though I think they're depressing. Isaac Asimov – did you know he really was a scientist? His ideas about robots!"

"Sentient computers, huh?!

"Absolutely! That's why I went for computer science..."

He glanced at a clock and blanched. "Shit ... oh, sorry! Got to go, class in five minutes! Great talking to you ... see you!" He almost ran out, leaving his book on the table with his almost finished meal ... Her eyes followed him until he disappeared, then she shrugged, cleared his place and her own and after a moment picked up his book and looked at it; it was 'Speed of Dark' by Elizabeth Moon. She thought ... then put it in her own bag, and headed to the Learning Centre to do some work.

The next day, things were much less hectic and there were several free tables in the cafeteria. She saw him come in; her eyes followed him as he collected his meal, then returned to her book.

She didn't recognise the feeling in her chest when she heard him ask, "might I join you again?"

She swallowed hard and cleared her throat before answering. "Certainly! Please do!"

"Sorry I left in such a hurry yesterday. I left a mess for you."

"Not really," she rummaged in her bag. "You left your book..."

"Thanks! I don't want to lose that one."

"I hope you don't mind..." she paused, "I ... er ... read it last night."

He smiled at her, "not at all. What did you think of it?"

"She writes really well, doesn't she? I really got caught up in the story. I didn't mean to actually read the whole thing, I just dipped in at first. I felt sorry for Marjorie, though."

"I know what you mean. But her characters really grip you, don't they?"

"Oh, yes ... I'll be looking out for more of hers."

"Don't miss the Serrano books, and Vatta's War ... then there's some she collaborated with Anne McCaffrey..."

"I do need to work sometimes, you know!" They laughed together.

"And right now I need to eat," he said. "It'd be nice to not have to run."

The pattern was set; each lunch time (and some breaks between sessions) he found her and they talked books; mainly science-fiction, but they found they both had wide-ranging tastes which overlapped at several points.